Fatal Secrets - Desiree Holt Page 0,48
the tension vibrating from her he gave her a reassuring nod. “Damn straight.”
And he’d better be on his toes.
She huffed a sigh. “We’re so close, Sean. I just know it. I’m so sure Justine found out about all the payoffs going on and began digging into anything and everything. What I’d like to know is how much she found out. I’ll bet she found it led back to Montoya and that’s what got her killed. This isn’t just about the book anymore. This is about justice for her.”
“We need to get back with Hank and Alex and see where we can go from here.”
“Hank can even put Brotherhood Protectors on this. Want me to text him? See if he’s available if we get back to the ranch right now? I’m sure he’ll feel better knowing we’re still alive and the meeting went well.”
“Yeah, go ahead.”
As she was texting Hank, he glanced in the rearview mirror. The semi from the truck stop had pulled out right after they did, along with a smaller truck and a couple of cars. It could be just coincidence, but that truck had nudged his Spidey sense to begin with. Was it too farfetched to think the other vehicles were with him? Had Ridge somehow been followed, and he didn’t know it? After all, that was what the place catered to. The semi stayed three car lengths behind them as they wound along the highway, the smaller truck and then a sedan taking up the space between them.
Everyone seemed to be paying attention to their own business, but Sean had fifteen years as a SEAL under his belt, and he’d learned to be suspicious of every single thing.
“Hank said he was finishing up a meeting in the Brotherhood war room at the ranch and then he has some time. He should be ready by the time we get home. And he says be careful.” She shook her head. “Like we need someone to tell us. But really, Sean. No one followed us from the ranch. You checked to see if there was a tail behind us when we got to the truck stop, and you said no. Ridge is so far off their radar now, I can’t imagine them paying attention to him. That’s another reason why he was a good choice.”
“I never write anything off. Ever.”
“We’re getting close, Sean. I can feel it.”
Sean checked the rearview mirror again. The car and small truck had dropped back, and the big semi was now directly behind them. And it looked like he was pulling closer to them. What the fuck?
“Is there a road we can use to cut across to another highway?” he asked Zoe. “I can reprogram the GPS.”
“Just up ahead.” She sat forward and pointed through the windshield. “See? Where the highway curves to the right? Just past the little group of trees is a narrow road that cuts over. Why?”
“There’s a big-ass semi on our tail. I don’t know if he’s friend or enemy, but I want to get rid of him. Hang on.”
He pressed his foot on the accelerator, speeding up to reach the curve and the narrow road. Behind him the semi sped up also. Sean floored it, and he had just made the curve, was parallel to the trees when the semi apparently put on the gas, also. The whole thing only took seconds but, to Sean, it seemed to happen in slow motion.
“Get down,” he yelled to Zoe, and pushed her head down with his hand.
At that moment the big truck slammed into him with the force of a giant tank and shoved them into the little grouping of trees. The last thing he heard was the sound of the crash. Then his head hit the steering wheel, and the lights went out.
Chapter 10
Hank had a radio in the war room set to monitor police calls in a five-county area. Brotherhood Protectors often had cases going on in those counties, and he liked to know what was going on. When he heard the call go out for an auto crash on the road where the truck stop was that Sean and Zoe had been to, the first thing he did was call Alex.
“I heard it,” the sheriff said. He, too, monitored surrounding areas. “I’m on my way.”
“Me, too. If you get there before I do, please for all that’s holy call me and tell me what the situation is.”
He was twenty minutes into the drive when his phone rang. He